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2014 Canadian Rugby Championship and General Canadian Rugby Chat.

Great news on the 7'S event. I've signed up for their email/ticket presale. Tragically I may not be at home March and April next year so I will have to fly home to attend LOL

As far as the lineups for RWC that you have been discussing I tend to want see Sinclair at loose forward with Ardron and Thorpe. Thorpe will be a one hit wonder at the age of 30 but he gets regular playing time at the highest level and that has to count for something. I like Dala but he is a 7's guy. That's where he excels, that's what his body size and skill set dictate he plays and trying to make him something he is not only hurts him and it hurts our 7's program.

"Oh God, please let Matt Evans stay healthy and demonstrate his great utility at fullback. Amen"


Centers DTH and whoever can get him the most ball and also tackle the constant barrage down the 10/12 channel.

Wing picks itself Hassler and Paris are both exceptional and proved their worth with their club teams. There simply can't be any dispute here. Mackenzie on the bench maybe.

Flyhalf: I think Braid has to be tried here. Unless they are determined to play him at centre, then I guess you can toss a coin between Underwood and Jones.

Tight five is pretty much picked with the exception of who locks arms with my boy Cuddles. I'm leaning towards Phelan but with a name like Beukeboom you know he would be commentator favorite. Hotson has always underwhelmed me.

Scrum half is McRorie and Mack. Anyone else who is taken at that position is just there to carry the ball bag anyways so it doesn't matter. They'll never see the field.
 
http://www.rugbycanada.ca/leagues/newsletter.cfm?clientID=3817&leagueID=0&page=86579

Rugby Canada has announced the Canada 'A' roster for the Pacific Challenge next month. Really excited that Phil Mackenzie is getting the call. It's been too long since he suited up for us. He's not doing anything with Sale so why not. Really shocked neither Wooldridge or James Smith were able to go but Houlihan should be a decent enough cover. Doubt he'll see much time with Buydens there. Buydens also gets to captain the team so good for him. He's a strong player and solid leader. I'm REALLY shocked Piffero is heading there instead of Hamilton. Does anyone know what Hamilton is up to? I'm guessing school but he's not listed under injured/unavailable. And Olmstead gets another shot to impress so I'm super pleased about that. Definitely have higher hopes for Canada in Fiji than I did during the ARC. No idea how the starting roster will play out, especially with the backs since they could all use some playing time.

Canada 'A' Roster for Pacific Rugby Challenge in Suva, Fiji:
Kyle Baillie, (Edmonton Druids/Atlantic Rock) Charlottetown, PEI
Ray Barkwill, (Castaway Wanderers/Ontario Blues) Niagara Falls, ON
Nick Blevins, (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
Hubert Buydens, Captain (Castaway Wanderers/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK
Alistair Clarke, (Baystreet RFC/Ontario Blues) Oakville, ON
Thyssen de Goede, (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
Tom Dolezel, (London St. George's/Ontario Blues) London, ON
Sean Duke, (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC
Aaron Flagg, (Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears) Abbotsford, BC
Ciaran Hearn, (Castaway Wanderers/Atlantic Rock) Conception Bay South, NL
Pete Houlihan, (Edmonton Druids/Prairie Wolf Pack) Edmonton, AB
Harry Jones, (Capilano RFC/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC
Jake Ilnicki, (Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears) Williams Lake, BC
Pat Kay, (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Duncan, BC
Adam Kleeberger, (Castaway Wanderers/BC Bears) White Rock, BC
Ryan Kotlewski, (Calgary Saints/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
Phil Mackenzie, (Sale Sharks) Oakville, ON
Gordon McRorie, (Calgary Hornets/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
John Moonlight, (James Bay AA/Ontario Blues) Pickering, ON
Callum Morrison, (UBCOC Ravens/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
Evan Olmstead, (Parametta Eels/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
Patrick Parfrey, (James Bay AA/Atlantic Rock) St. Johns, NL
Seb Pearson, (James Bay AA/Ontario Blues) London, ON
Benoit Piffero, (Blagnac) Montreal, QC
Conor Trainor, (UBCOB Ravens/BC Bears) Vancouver, BC
Liam Underwood, (Ontario Blues) Toronto, ON
Sean White, (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
Jordan Wilson-Ross, (James Bay AA/Ontario Blues) Alliston, ON

Unavailable due to Injury/Other Commitments:
Nanyak Dala, (Castaway Wanderers/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saskatoon, SK
Kyle Gilmour, (Saint Albert RFC/Prairie Wolf Pack) Saint Albert, AB
Nathan Hirayama, (UVIC Vikes/BC Bears) Richmond, BC
Phil Mack, (James Bay AA/BC Bears) Victoria, BC
James Smith, (Shoalhaven RFC/Prairie Wolf Pack) Calgary, AB
Doug Wooldridge, (Castaway Wanderers/Ontario Blues) Lindsay, ON

My Starting XV:
1) Hubert Buydens
2) Ray Barkwill
3) Jake Ilnicki
4) Evan Olmstead
5) Aaron Flagg
6) Adam Kleeberger
7) John Moonlight
8) Seb Pearson
9) Gordie McRorie
10) Liam Underwood
11) Sean Duke
12) Phil Mackenzie
13) Conor Trainor
14) Jordan Wilson-Ross
15) Ciaran Hearn

Replacements: Benoit Piffero, Peter Houlihan, Tom Dolezel, Kyle Baillie, Callum Morrison, Sean White, Nick Blevins, Harry Jones
 
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Looks like an OK side and it might show some strength here, the Pacific Islands tend to lack depth at certain positions so I don't think we'll be creamed like the Jaguars do to us annually in the ARC, some points of interest for me.....


1. Kleeberger attempting a comeback, I don' think he'll do enough to make it past the oodles of depth in the back row but good for him on trying.

2. Piffero is still a part of the picture which is good, Hooker is a bit of a mess and even depth guys here are valuable.

3. Mackenzie is not rated at all by Sale if they are releasing him to play here, my guess is they are letting his contract run out. What a shame as he showed promise on a poor London Welsh side and than wasted two years of his career with the move afterword.

4. Quite a few 7's guys, though no Mack/Hirayama.

5. Buydens as captain, really hope this is a stunningly successful tournament so he can keep the armband for the RWC proper.
 
Here's another late(is it really though when it's a hobby and not a job?) weekly round up as well as a CDI game in case you're bored and have nothing better to do.

CDI Premier League "Game of the Week": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoLHlzHgRa4

Roundup for February 20th-22nd

Doncaster Knights: The Knights went up against one of the strongest Championship sides, Bristol, and unfortunately came up short, falling 27-12. Both Phelan and Hotson continued their starting ways, this time with Phelan being the one subbed off, at the 55th minute.

Plymouth Albion: Plymouth did themselves a big favor, winning a close one over Jersey 18-17 and putting them three points back of Moseley and five back of Doncaster in the relegation race. Andrew Tiedemann got the start at Tighthead and played the whole game. Buekeboom was kept off the game roster.

Bedford Blues: Bedford faced off with the league leading Worcester Warriors and lead 17-0 at the half before slipping away to a 32-17 loss. Pritchard was listed as starting on the wing and hit two successful conversions while missing a penalty. Justin Blanchet started at Blindside Flanker and subbed off at the 46th minute.

Cornish Pirates: The Pirates went on the road against a Nottingham team looking to bounce back from last week. Matt Evans played the full game on the wing and collected a try, helping Pirates to a close 16-14 win.

SU Agen: A break may have been just what Agen needed after a loss. Agen bounced back into 2nd place in the Pro D2 with a 12-3 win over Biarritz. The promotion playoff race is still very close so Agen has work to do yet. I'd love to see Paris get a shot at Top 14 play. Speaking of which, Taylor Paris played another full game as he seems unmovable from the Left Wing. JasonMarshall isn't as lucky with playing time, coming off the bench at the 57th minute.

Section Paloise: Pau had a rare drop in form, settling for a 23-23 draw with 12th placed Tarbes. Still they are in good shape, sitting 16 points ahead of 2nd place Agen. Cam Pierce got on the roster for the 4th time in a row and 6th time this season. It wasn't much time though as he subbed on at the 69th minute. Here's hoping he makes Crowley think long and hard about which Locks make the squad.

Ospreys and Glasgow Warriors: Both teams have key players out due to 6N but Glasgow proved the better team, staying atop the Pro 12 table with a 19-16 win. Three Canadians were on the game sheets but only two saw action as Connor Braid rode the bench. DTH saw the full game on the wing for the Warriors while Ardron moved to Lock and Captained Ospreys.

London Irish: Irish lost a low scoring 12-6 game to the Leicester Tigers at home as they continue to struggle for results in the Aviva Premiership. Sinclair suited up as a Lock, in what seems to be a regular spot for him, and was subbed off at the 52nd minute.

Blagnac: Took me forever to find a proper match report for Fédérale 1. I wasn't going to but the announcement that Piffero is heading to Fiji with Canada 'A' shows he seems to still be on the radar and with Hooker depth being a question mark, we might as well try and keep some tabs. I've looked at a couple sheets and he seems to be the starting Hooker there. He got the start this last weekend and played the whole game but Blagnac fell to Bagnères 27-10.

CDI Premier League: I'll list only realistic RWC hopefuls otherwise I'd need a whole other round up. Hubert Buydens once again suited up as Lock while Jake Ilnicki played Tighthead and Ray Barkwill started at Hooker for Castaway Wanderers.

Injuries: Jamie Cudmore had to sit out Clermont's game with a knee injury while Richard Thorpe sat out injured for London Welsh. Apparently Nanyak Dala injured himself(ripped biceps) playing touch rugby right before Wellington 7s where he was supposed to make his SWS debut and is out until April. Nathan Hirayama has been injured for months now but may be on track to play in Hong Kong, which would be a major boost for our team.
 
Pritchard on the wing at Bedford is pretty odd, maybe some sort of injury crisis has forced that move? I guess the pitches are often a little slower in the UK but the last couple of times he played at wing for Canada he was nowhere near as effective as he still is at Fullback.

Love Braid getting quality starts at #10, if he plays well there and Underwood continues his fantastic form of late than maybe we'll have competent FH's in the RWC.

Edit: Some minor good news an bad news, Ospreys finally earned a 9-9 draw with Ardron as captain so he finally has a "result" on his record, the bad news it was a win that slipped away at the last couple of minutes, the curse continues....
 
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http://www.glasgowwarriors.org/news/15/02/27/braid-stay-glasgow

Connor Braid is sticking with Glasgow for the rest of the season. Hopefully he doesn't get lost in the shuffle after the 6 Nations. The training should be top notch but I really hope he gets more playing time and leaves an impression. With DTH heading to Scarlets next season maybe Glasgow would feel inclined to sign Braid long term if he does well. If not, I hope he can return to London Scottish.
 
This one is up at a proper time but still as lazy as usual.

Roundup for February 27th-March 1st 2015

Glasgow Warriors: Two Canadian internationals were in the starting line up as league leading Glasgow went on the road and faced off against a strong Munster who was nipping at their heels. Braid got the full game at Fly-Half and connected on a conversion and a penalty while DTH started the full game on the wing. Unfortunately for Warriors fans, Munster had a strong first half and 4th quarter, winning 22-10 and leaping Glasgow in the standings to take 1st.

Ospreys: Tyler Ardron suited up at Lock again and captained Ospreys against a tough Leinster squad. The team was looking to avoid a third straight loss for the first time since 2012. It was a low scoring game but Ospreys were ahead late in the game when lack of discipline cost them and Leinster connected with a penalty ending the game in a bittersweet 9-9 draw.

London Irish and London Welsh: It was a battle of the Exiles this week as London Welsh hosted London Irish. Irish have been struggling all year, entering the weekend with a record of 4-11 and in any other year they'd be in threat of relegation. Fortunately for them, Welsh have been a steaming stool all season, entering the game without a win in any competition. Both Canadian internationals started the game on the bench with Thorpe coming on as Openside Flanker for Welsh to start the 2nd half while Jebb Sinclair entered at the 62nd minute playing as 8-Man for the Irish. The game itself was completely one sided as London Irish walked away with a 50-12 win.

Section Paloise: Pierce seems to have cemented a place for himself on the bench for the ProD2 leaders and here's hoping he doesn't let it go. This was the 5th game in a row he's found his name on the game roster. Pierce subbed in at the 52nd minute and Pau got a bit of a scare from a much weaker Bourgoin as they only came away with a 19-16 win.

SU Agen: Agen had a great shot to improve their position as they went on the road, facing off against bottom of the table Dax. Unfortunately they let the opportunity slip away as they fell 17-10 and dropped to 3rd in the standings. Taylor Paris played the full game on the wing and got the only try in the game for Agen. Marshall unfortunately seems to be stuck as a reserve and got in at the 49th minute.

Blagnac SCR: Fédérale 1 is a bit of a pain but I think I'm getting the hang of it. Blagnac faced off with mid-table competition, Mauléon, and were able to come away with a 19-10 win. Benoit Piffero got the start and full game at Hooker while also being Man of the Match. Does anyone know how Fédérale 1 compares to the CDI Premier League and is Piffero a better player than Barkwill right now? Guess we'll find out in Fiji next week.

CDI Premier League: Ray Barkwill got the start at Hooker for Castaway while Buydens finally moved back to the front row, though he suited up as a Tighthead Prop. Ilnicki and Kleeberger sat out with respective ****les. Castaway came away with a hard earned 29-23 win against their Vancouver Island rivals, James Bay AA.

Two Week Rewind – Connacht: I was just reading that Shane O'Leary got himself a call up to the main squad on February 15th which was his first cap with the main squad. He subbed on at the 72nd minute as Fly-Half and missed a tough conversion as Scarlets beat Connacht 32-14. Unfortunately for him he's been on the outside looking in the two games since. Aside from the short appearance with the main squad he's started ten games this season for the Connacht Eagles: three at Inside Center, three on the Wing and four at Fly-Half. While it would be nice to have him this summer/fall I'm not going to hold my breath.

Top 14 and RFU Championship teams had the week off.

Canada 'A' leaves for Fiji on March 5th. Most should be leaving out of Vancouver though I definitely don't envy Phil Mackenzie or Benoit Piffero who are heading to Suva from Europe(as far as I know). I wonder if they'll catch the same flight so they have some company. Ryan Kotlewski and Evan Olmstead should have much nicer flights as I think both are in Australia right now.
 
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Not shocking with Peter Horne back in the lineup this week. Definitely awesome that Braid stays in the starting XV though.

My french is incredibly rusty but it seems Jamie Cudmore is healthy and should be back in the lineup this weekend for Clermont. I think he'd been out with a knee injury for almost two months which can be worrisome at his age so I'm glad he's apparently match fit.

Good on Matt Evans for re-signing with the Pirates. He's definitely a starting caliber player in the RFU Championship when healthy.

Canada West U17 swept Canada East U17 by scores of 30-12 and 44-12. The squads were almost completely BC(23) or Ontario(23) with a handful of Albertans(4), Quebecois(4) and a single Saskabusher and New Brunswicker.

I was kinda looking forward to watching Canada University 7s cause I know some people on the U of A team but I really don't want to spend $5 to stream something cause I'm cheap that way. The Maple Leafs Women are fielding a team because a team had to cancel so that should be interesting. They are ineligible to win it though and are just there to keep it a 14 team field.

And finally Canada 'A' left/are leaving for Fiji today so here's hoping for a smooth and safe trip for them as well as an impressive tournament.
 
Don't know if anyone cares but the Canada University 7s took place this last weekend. Predictably UBC and UVic were by far the best in the Men's tournament, though Andrew Ferguson made the dream team so that was cool. Hopefully he commits to Canada even though he's real focused on his education. I still need to go "compile" the Women's results but I'll do that after the Oilers are done disappointing me.

Canada National University 7s

Pool 1:
UVic Vikes 43 - 0 U of Calgary
Waterloo University 29 - 0 U of Saskatchewan
UVic Vikes 43 - 0 Waterloo University
U of Calgary 27 - 7 U of Saskatchewan
UVic Vikes 80 - 0 U of Saskatchewan
U of Calgary 12 - 24 Waterloo University

Pool 2:
UBC 43 – 0 Royal Military College
UBC-Okanagan 27 – 5 Mount Royal
UBC 45 – 0 Mount Royal
Royal Military College 5 – 17 UBC-Okanagan
UBC 31 – 0 UBC-Okanagan
Royal Military College 19 – 22 Mount Royal

Pool 3Avs3B:
3A: UVic Norsemen, Queen's University, U of Regina
3B: Humber College, McMaster University, U of Alberta
Queen's 24 – 5 McMaster
UVic Norsemen 24 - 19 Humber College
U of Alberta 10 – 28 U of Regina
Queen's 12 – 26 Humber College
UVic Norsemen 24 – 7 U of Alberta
McMaster 38 – 7 U of Regina
Queen's 48 – 10 U of Alberta
UVic Norsemen 29 – 24 McMaster
Humber College 34 – 10 U of Regina

Men's Shield:
Royal Military College 33 – 0 U of Saskatchewan
U of Alberta 24 – 7 U of Saskatchewan
Royal Military College 17 – 7 U of Alberta

Men's Bowl:
U of Calgary 7 – 29 Mount Royal
U of Regina 28 – 12 Mount Royal
U of Calgary 19 – 14 U of Regina

Men's Cup QFs:
UVic Vikes 27 – 0 McMaster
Queen's 29 – 5 Humber College
UVic Norsemen 22 – 7 UBC-Okanagan
UBC 52 – 0 Waterloo

Men's Plate SF:
McMaster 12 – 10 Humber College
Waterloo 19 – 7 UBC-Okanagan

Men's Cup SF:
UVic Vikes 34 – 0 Queen's
UVic Norsemen 21 – 24 UBC

Men's 7th/8th Place:
Humber College 34 – 0 UBC-Okanagan

Men's Plate Final:
McMaster 33 – 0 Waterloo

Men's 3rd/4th Place:
Queen's 31 – 26 UVic Norsemen

Men's Cup Final:
UVic Vikes 17 – 12 UBC

Shield Winners: Royal Military College
Bowl Winners: University of Calgary
Plate Winners: McMaster Marauders
Cup Winners: UVic Vikes

Men's Dream Team:
Dustin Dobravsky(UVic)
Theo Sauder(UBC)
Luke McCloskey(UVic)
Jordan Sandover-Best(UBC)
Andrew Ferguson(McMaster)
Sam Jefferies(UBC)
 
And here's the women's results if anyone here cares. Kinda bummed the Pandas didn't do better but the U of A went up against some real tough opposition.

Canada National University 7s

Pool 1:
McMaster 36 – 5 Queen's
Maple Leafs 47 – 0 Brock
McMaster 12 – 27 Maple Leafs
Queen's 40 – 5 Brock
McMaster 47 – 0 Brock
Queen's 5 – 57 Maple Leafs

Pool 2:
Guelph 10 – 22 UBC
UVic Yellow 14 – 31 York
Guelph 36 – 7 UVic Yellow
UBC 31 – 12 York
Guelph 27 – 0 York
UBC 51 – 0 UVic Yellow

Pool 3Avs3B:
3A: U of Lethbridge, U of Calgary, UBC-Okanagan
3B: UVic Blue, U of Alberta, U of Regina
U of Lethbridge 22 – 19 U of Alberta
U of Calgary 7 – 29 UVic Blue
UBC-Okanagan 5 – 32 U of Regina
U of Lethbridge 17 – 14 UVic Blue
U of Calgary 25 – 14 U of Regina
U of Alberta 19 – 0 UBC-Okanagan
U of Lethbridge 27 – 12 U of Regina
U of Calgary 12 – 22 U of Alberta
UBC-Okanagan 0 – 19 UVic Blue

Women's Cup QF:
UBC 12 – 7 U of Calgary
Guelph 12 – 14 UVic Blue
McMaster 24 – 12 U of Alberta
Lethbridge 39 – 0 U of Regina

Women's Plate SF:
U of Calgary 10 – 25 Guelph
U of Alberta 48 – 12 U of Regina

Women's Cup SF:
UBC 7 – 12 UVic Blue
McMaster 19 – 12 U of Lethbridge

Women's Shield:
Maple Leafs 43 – 0 UVic Yellow
Brock 0 – 59 Maple Leafs
UVic Yellow 31 – 5 Brock

Women's Bowl:
York 26 – 19 UBC-Okanagan
Queen's 14 – 38 UBC-Okanagan
York 17 – 28 Queen's

Women's 7th/8th Place:
U of Calgary 44 – 7 U of Regina

Women's Plate Final:
Guelph 19 – 10 U of Alberta

Women's 3rd/4th Place:
UBC 40 – 12 U of Lethbridge

Women's Cup Final:
UVic Blue 5 – 31 McMaster

Shield Winners: UVic Yellow(Maple Leafs were ineligible to win)
Bowl Winnders: Queen's University
Plate Winners: Guelph University
Cup Winners: McMaster University

Women's Dream Team:
Laura Crowe-Hutchon (UVIC Blue)
Kara Loewen (Lethbridge)
Daria Keane (Guelph)
Moanda Anglo (Regina)
Amy Spears (Alberta)
Ciara Malone (UBC)
Sara Svoboda (McMaster)
 

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